Vidya Balan has signed a Rs 5 crore sari endorsement deal, and her managers say she will be positioned as the Indian version of Hollywood star Meryl Streep

Actor Vidya Balan has signed a whopping Rs 5 crore deal for endorsing a sari brand. The elan with which Vidya carries the traditional Indian attire has prompted a well-known Chennai-based sari brand to sign the actor as its brand ambassador.

“Vidya today represents the quintessential Indian woman. She not only dazzles in saris but is also astoundingly self-assured to follow a path charted out only by her at a time when everyone is sporting similar looks. She stands out far apart from the crowd. She brought saris ‘back’,” Swati Iyer of Bling! Entertainment Solutions said in a statement. “Hence it is no surprise that we got her to be the face of the biggest sari brand in the country. We are delighted to represent a personality as unique as her and are extremely proud to play a crucial role in creating Brand Vidya. Today Vidya stands for everything beautiful, real, honest, Indian and fearless. We now also manage her movies and endorsements,” Iyer added.

In recent time, Vidya has given hits like Paa, Ishqiya, The Dirty Picture, No One Killed Jessica, and Kahaani. Except the last two, in other movies she mostly wore saris. Celebrity photographer Atul Kasbekar, who owns Bling!, adds they are positioning Vidya as India’s Meryl Streep. “Internally, we have positioned her as India’s Meryl Streep. To a movie going audience worldwide, if the venerable Ms Streep’s name is in the titles, it is a reason enough to watch the film. We believe that Vidya is now in that league in India by a unique combination of critically acclaimed performances in box office success,” he said.